


The Road Not Taken

by Eternal_Spring



Category: Castle Rock (TV)
Genre: Dark..ish, F/F, Romance, Season 2 spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:28:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24527659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Spring/pseuds/Eternal_Spring
Summary: Castle Rock holds a mystery that few have been able to uncover and many more succumb to its otherworldly nature. Joy Wilkes, a girl whose story ends where it began, finds herself being offered a second chance. Is this the start of a new life or the beginning of something much darker?Note: Major spoilers for season 2. As in, the first line of the story is basically a spoiler so watch out. Go watch the show and then come back here, I'll wait.
Relationships: Joy Wilkes/Georgia LaChance | Chance
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	The Road Not Taken

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to this little story. First off, there are MAJOR season 2 spoilers so beware! 
> 
> So, I don't know about you but I wasn't totally satisfied with how Chance and Joy's story was handled - I totally understand that their relationship wasn't the focus of the story and needed to make room for larger plot points but still, that's why we have fanfiction. At the moment I'm feeling like the only person who showed up to a party being part of this fandom but fuck it, party on I must. 
> 
> I still wanted to maintain a 'Stephen King' feel to the story, so it's not all rainbows and butterflies I'm afraid but still some sweetness - If that makes sense. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story and let me know your thoughts!

Joy’s life ended where it started, in a lake. From the day her life was spared from the lake's depths, the very trajectory of her future altered. The very water never forgot what it was owed. 

Joy tried to hold her breath, resist the burning urge to breathe, as her face was pushed back into the water. She fought hard knowing full well she was no match against her mother’s madness.  Her mother’s hand gripped the back of her head, the same hand that cradled her to sleep and combed her hair, keeping her submerged under.  Joy’s vision blurred. Gasping in mouthfuls of water she felt herself be taken by the lake, allowing it to ensnare her. 

Then, she heard it. That strange, sound she’s heard in Castle Lake, a distorted sort of whale song yet unlike anything she had ever heard. She could see, not the bottom of the lake of the old man’s house but the depths of Castle Lake.  The song grew louder, surrounding her. The image of a boat with a group of friends huddled inside it and getting up to mischief bubbled to the surface. She  was grateful for the memory, so distant now from the horrors that had followed it. 

The hand on the back of her head was gone. Joy raised her head, gasping for breath and swung her arms in a last-ditch attempt to escape. 

“Mom, stop!” She screamed.

“Joy? Are you ok?” said a familiar voice.

“Crash?” Another voice chimed in. 

Joy opened her eyes. In front of her, the little boat bobbed up and down, Chance, Timothy and Vera stared at her. Joy took lungfuls of air. She stared at the paddle in her hand, only just realising its existence. 

“Chance! Be careful!” Vera shrieked. 

Joy turned back to the boat to see Chance reaching her hand towards her. Vera fell forward and wrapped her arms around Chance’s middle. 

“You can’t swim, you idiot!” Vera cried. 

Joy grasped onto Chance’s outreached hand and let her drag her back towards the boat. Timothy grabbed onto Vera’s jacket and leaned his weight to the side to keep the little boat steady while the girls hauled Joy back up. 

“Joy?” Chance said, pulling her hands away, giving Joy space. “You ok?”

Joy gasped for air, clutching the paddle. She could feel the rough, uneven surface of the paddle, the cool air nipping at her soaking skin. 

_ What the hell? _ She thought.  _ Is this my life flashing before my eyes?  _ Joy had heard that's what happens when people die but she had no idea it would be so vivid. 

With a shaking hand, she reached out and brushed her fingers along Chance’s knuckles. Chance kept her eyes on Joy’s face, not moving a muscle. Joy, feeling overly brave for a dead girl, curled her fingers around Chance’s hand and held tight. 

_ So real. _ Joy mused. 

“Damn near gave me a heart attack, Crash,” Timothy said, slumping back in the boat. 

“You didn’t see a head while you were down there, did you?” Vera said.

Joy couldn’t help but laugh, making the others erupt into laughter along with her. 

_ How long were these flashbacks meant to last? _ Joy wondered as they headed back through the woods. 

Vera and Chance chased each other down the path while Timothy went over the events at the lake. Joy looked at Timothy’s face, alive and so himself. Not the shell of a person she’d seen at the house. And Vera, no longer controlled by the sound and her eyes bright.  Joy’s eyes landed on Chance, taking in her dark features that were so striking against her pale skin, her smile wide as she evaded Vera’s attacks. 

She  never got to say goodbye. Chance probably had no idea she even survived the explosion. During one of her mother’s tirades, as she tried to warn Joy about girls like Chance - the impulsive ones with only one thing on their mind - but who inadvertently told her that Chance had tried to save her. Joy had hidden her smile behind her sketchbook as her mother ranted. 

Once, while on the road, Joy had tried to call Chance at a gas station; a short window of opportunity while her mother was in the restroom. No answer - only an automated voice saying ‘this mailbox is full’.  She never got the chance to call again. 

They arrived at the crossroad again, parting ways with Timothy comparing Joy to a Mermaid. Timothy and Vera waved their goodbyes while Joy and Chance headed towards the trailer park. 

“That was um….pretty badass,” Chance began to say, brushing her hair out of her face, “especially for being high for the first time.” 

They laughed, as they had before. Joy slowed down, knowing Chance would stop too, and turned to her.

“Are you feeling normal again?” Chance said, putting her hands in her pockets. 

“I think so,” Joy replied, same as before. 

“That’s too bad,” Chance said, a playful smile on her lips, her eyes lingering a moment too long.

When this happened before, Joy thought nothing of it, having no frame of reference for such emotions. She honestly thought those dark looks were just how Chance looked at people. But now, knowing what she does now, she acknowledged the want in them.  As Chance stepped closer, only the song of birds and a gentle breeze surrounding them, Joy tilted her face up, her heart thundering in her chest.  That hadn’t happened before, this feeling. At the time, Joy was curious, maybe even a little confused at the sudden closeness but she didn’t have the inkling of the heat that was so apparent between them.

The chirp of the phone pulled her out of the moment. A little dazed, she took the phone Chance offered to her, keeping her eyes on Chance's face.

“Keep your phone on,” Chance whispered as she stepped away with that little smirk on her face. 

According to the script, Joy turned around and went home, pleased with the fact to finally have a phone. But this time, Joy stayed rooted on the spot, watching Chance walk away. It was only a matter of time before the flashbacks ended, she wanted this to be the last thing she saw before she succumbed to her watery death. 

Chance bounded up the steps to her house and glanced over her shoulder at Joy, as she had before but then she paused. Stepping down from the step, she turned to face Joy. 

“Joy?” Chance said, her eyes worried but maintaining that casual air about her. 

The crunch of gravel registered a moment later as Joy moved towards Chance.  She reached up and encircled her arms around Chance’s neck and pulled her down into a hug. __

_ This isn’t how it went...why wasn’t this how it went?  _

Chance, froze up for a second, before melting into the hug. She pulled Joy closer to her, seeming to not mind needing to bend awkwardly to match Joy’s height. 

Joy pressed her face into Chance’s neck and breathed, taking in that familiar scent 

“Chance…” Joy said, her voice breaking. No, this was the moment she wanted as her final moments. 

“H...hey, it's ok,” Chance said, stroking Joy’s hair. 

They stood on Chance’s stoop a moment longer. Death didn’t come to Joy, not yet. Joy pulled away and looked up at Chance’s face.

Chance smiled, unusually shy, as she wiped away a stray tear on Joy’s face.

“Are you sure you’re not still high?” Chance said, grinning when Joy playfully pushed her. 

“I can’t hug my friends?” Joy said, her face hot with embarrassment. 

Chance raised a dark eyebrow. 

“Friends?” she said. 

Joy smiled and looked down, scuffing her shoes against the ground. 

Chance laughed, knocking her foot gently against Joy’s. 

“Don’t forget to call me,” Chance said.

Joy nodded and stepped back, letting Chance go inside her house. Joy turned on her heel and walked towards her place, her heart light and airy. 

W hen she came to the door of her place when that airy feeling evaporated. She didn’t want to see this part again.  Not again.  Inside, her mother waited and the beginning of their little life together would unravel. The excitement she just had vanished into thin air. 

Maybe the water would take her now.  _ Please _ . 

Joy opened the door. 

This wasn’t her living room. Looking down at herself, her clothes had changed and were bone dry. Outside was dark, the soft glow of the lamps in the house poured out into the night air. Looking behind her, she didn’t see a trailer park, only trees and a dirt track that disappeared into the thicket of them. She turned back again. Still not her house. 

“Babe? That you?” 

Chance? 

From the other room, Chance wandered out dressed in sweats and a faded band t-shirt. She looked different...somehow a little older? She was taller, still slender and her hair was shorter with an undercut. 

All Joy could do was stare, clutching the door handle as if it were the only thing keeping her from floating away. 

“Joy?” Chance stopped then approached her, “Do you remember where you are?” 

Joy peered at her. “Chance?...where….what….” 

Chance let out a sound between her teeth and ran her hand through her hair.

“Everythings ok,” Chance said as she gently pried Joy’s hand from the door handle. “Just come sit down,"  Then them to the sofa, shutting the door behind them. 

Joy sat stiffly onto the sofa, clutching the strap of her messenger bag. Chance settled down beside her on the edge, ready to spring up at any moment. 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Chanced asked. 

Joy’s mind raced, did she mean now or before? Chance was quiet but Joy could see the longer the silence stretched out the more her leg bounced anxiously. 

“I was at the lake... Castle Lake, in the boat,” Joy said.

Chance’s eyes widened. 

“That’s quite a chunk of time…” She said.

“How much of a chunk?” Joy said, her grip tightening on the bag strap. 

“Four years.” 

Joy gapped at her, waiting to see if there was some kind of punch line. None came.

“Four...four years?” Joy said, clasping her hands together in her lap. “What happened? Where are we?”

Chance reached over and rested her hand over Joy’s, that simple touch made the racing thoughts in Joy’s head slow down. 

“The doctor said, when this happens, to not overwhelm you but if you wanna ask me something I’ll answer,” Chance’s hand slipped away as she got to her feet. “Just hang on a second. I’m just going to get something.” 

Joy resisted the temptation to stop Chance leaving the room, terrified time would shift again and someone else would walk back in. 

“After last time,” came Chance’s voice from the other room, “we made you up a box. Maybe it’ll help jog your memory.” 

After a few moments of rummaging around, Chance reappeared with a cardboard box under her arm. She sank back onto the sofa and placed the box between them and took the lid off, revealing a collection of photos and letters. 

Joy sifted through the photos. Polaroids of the two of them on the road together. The Haw river. An acceptance letter for the University of North Carolina department of arts. Pictures of them painting the house. The sight of their smiling faces made something in Joy’s chest ache. 

A brush of fingers against her hair made her lookup. Chance tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. 

“Sorry...habit,” Chance said, a little sheepish. 

Joy shook her head. “Don’t be.”

Chance let out a breath and rested her head against her arm on the back of the sofa. 

“How did we…” Joy started then waved a hand between them.

“You called me, from the gas station. Told me you and Ann - your mom were heading to Canada. You got straight on a bus all the way to North Carolina, which is where we are now.”

Joy remembered that night, at the gas station with the light from the sign burning in the night. The sound of an unanswered dial tone. 

“You answered my call?” Joy said.

Chance nodded, “Yeah, almost missed it too. I don't ever answer unknown numbers, especially ones out of state, but something told me to pick up.” 

From all the photos, the only photos she saw of her mother were the ones she had taken as a child and as a teenager. She picked one up, their smiling faces beaming up at her.

“And...my Mom?” 

Chance shrugged, “You haven’t seen her since you got that bus. No idea if she went on to Canada alone." 

They fell silent for a moment. Chance slipped her hand into the box and took out a picture of them together, sitting on the hood of a car with a scenic landscape behind them. 

“You said this happened before? My memory loss?” Joy said, her gut tight from the wistful look in Chance’s eyes.

Chance nodded. “It’s been a while since it was this bad, a few years at least,” Chance ran her hand through her hair. 

“Why does it happen?”

“Doc said it was trauma, you tended to forget stuff that happened after we got here, sometimes you’d think you were still back in Jerusalem’s Lot,” Chance slipped her hand out of her hair and stood up. “It always comes back, don’t worry. I’ll make you that tea you like.”

Chance disappeared into the kitchen, the sound of cupboard doors opening and kettle boiling oddly comforting. Joy looked around their little living room, it was cosy. A laptop rested on the scruffed up coffee table with little colourful crochet coasters. On the bookshelf there a mixture of books and CDs, with a framed photograph of them together. 

Suddenly feeling too warm, she slipped off her jacket and placed her bag on the floor. She had a look inside and found her phone, school notes, a sketch pad, pencil case stuffed to the brim with pencils and a small journal. 

Chance came back into the room with two mugs, one tea and one black coffee, and set them both onto the coffee table, hastily remembering to shove coasters under them. 

Joy flicked open the page of the diary to the first page which read:

_ As Doctor Mills told me, I’m writing a diary to recall what happened before we came here and every day after that.  _

She flicked through the pages, seeing flashes of her scribbled handwriting and doodles. 

“Joy?”

Joy looked up as when she felt Chance lightly brush her fingers over her hand. 

“You’ve had a lot to take in already. Why not read it tomorrow? You’ll probably be back to your old self again,” Chance said, “Doc said too much information can be... too much.” 

Joy couldn’t help but stare at where their skin connected. This Joy, the Joy who’s call had been answered and made a life with Chance, was probably all too familiar with these touches. For Joy, it sent a jolt through her whole body.  Joy shut the book, willing her hands to not shake as she put it back into her bag. 

They spent the rest of the evening in companionable silence, while Joy sifted through the rest of the photos a final time before settling back on the couch to watch whatever happened to be on TV.  Joy stifled another yawn.

“You ready for bed, Babe?” Chance said, holding back a laugh at Joy’s startled look. “Hey, don’t worry I can sleep out here while you take the bed.”

Joy laughed then nodded, only feeling a little disappointed but too shy to say otherwise.  Chance took her to the bedroom and helped her find clothes to sleep in. She popped out of the room, allowing Joy to get dressed then came back in to place a glass of water on the bed stand. 

“Well, good night,” Chance said, those dark eyes giving Joy a once over before she headed back into the living room. 

Joy sat on the edge of the bed, glancing around the bedroom. It was plain with large windows on the other side of the room with stacks of Joy’s drawings piled up on a small desk. The digital clock on her bedside table read:

July 17. 1 AM

Joy’s bag was on the floor beside her feet, the journal poking out of it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she picked it up and flicked through to the latest entry, July 16th. 

_ It’s happening again. The slips in time. The last time this happened I forgot everything. Not everything, just what happened after. That fork in time.  _ _ It’s the lake - Remember when you died?  _

_ Maybe we’re finally drowning. Can you feel it?  _

With a gasp, Joy dropped the diary and knocked over the glass of water, sending it crashing to the floor. Water seeped into the wood, searching for every crevice and groove to sink into. Her chest restricted, burned. 

There was a padding of feet before Chance appeared in the doorway. 

“Fuck,” Chance said as she ran over. “Breathe, Joy. Babe, it’s alright. Just breathe.” 

Joy clutched onto Chance’s shirt and gasped for air that wouldn’t fill her lungs. 

“Chance!” Joy wheezed, “I’m drowning! I’m drowning!” 

Chance shook her head and held Joy’s face between her palms. 

“No, you’re not. I just need you to breath for me,” She grabbed one of Joy’s hands and pushed it against her chest, “With me, ok? Just focus on me.” 

Chance’s chest expanded as she took a deep breath than shrank as she exhaled. Joy stared into her eyes, allowing herself to fall into the embrace of her gaze. 

She breathed in.

Then breathed out.

The pain subsided as Joy finally felt oxygen fill her body. She fell forward and touched her forehead against Chance’s, closing her eyes. The sound of their rhythmic breaths filled the room blending with the sound of cicadas outside. 

She opened them again.

“Stay with me?” Joy whispered. 

“Try and stop me,” Chance said, her breath ghosting over Joy’s lips. 

Not wanting to let go, Joy gripped Chance’s hand as she slid across the bed to allow Chance to lay down beside her. They settled down under the covers, face to face, with their hands entwined. Feeling brave, Joy shifted until her head was tucked under Chance’s chin. She let out a content sigh when she felt arms circle around her and pull her closer.

There was silence for a long time. Joy assumed Chance had fallen asleep until she began to speak. 

“Do you remember that day, after Castle Lake? When we hugged for the first time?” Chance said so quietly Joy wasn't sure if she was meant to hear what she said.

“I do,” Joy replied. 

“It was funny. I remember looking back at you and...just the look on your face...”

“How did I look?”

“Hot?” Chance chuckled at Joy’s exasperated sound before continuing, “You looked like you were scared to look away. Like I was going to disappear.”

Joy held her tighter, tucking her face into her shoulder. 

“I never wanted you to look at me like that again,” Chance swallowed before continuing, “I just want you to know, I’m not going anywhere.”

Joy nodded, feeling hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt a gentle kiss at her temple as Chance settled down to sleep.  Chance’s breathing slowed as she finally fell asleep but her grip stayed firmly around Joy. Joy’s eyes grew heavy until she finally drifted off. 

For a moment, she was sure she saw the bottom of Castle Lake as she plunged into a restless sleep. 


End file.
